Albus at Hogwarts
by snaphellos
Summary: Voldemort is gone. The wizarding world is safe. So, Albus should have a peaceful fourth year at Hogwarts, right? Wrong. Voldemort may be gone, but revenge against Harry Potter is very much alive.
1. Chapter 1

Note: I don't own Harry Potter, etc.

Albus looked around, trying to see through the darkness. He took out his wand and shouted, "Lumos!" Immediately, the mysterious surroundings lit up. In his heart, he knew he shouldn't have come down here tonight. A dueling club, that's what Denver had said it would be. But now, here in the forbidden forest at night, he knew it would be nothing of the sort.

A twig snapped, and Albus jumped a foot. He swung his wand around, almost hitting Owen in the eye.

"Why are we here again?" Owen asked, moving his blonde hair out of his eyes. "You know I said I'd come, but since when do we listen to Denver? He's a rotten Slytherin." Together, the Griffindor and the Hufflepuff made an odd pair, but they turned out to be the best of friends.

"Man it's hot outside tonight," Own commented, taking off his Griffindor cloak.

"Yeah, I agree," Albus answered, wiping beads of sweat from his forehead while examining the treetops.

"Too hot if you ask me," Owen said. "Albus, Denver isn't coming. Can we go back-" Suddenly, Owen stopped mid-sentence.

"Thank you for stopping Owen. As I already told you, we're only going to wait another fifteen minutes, ok?" Owen didn't reply. "Owen?" Turning around, Albus saw Owen stuck, mouth open, eyes unblinking. He was petrified.

Then, figures started appearing out of the darkness. Thirteen hooded figures stepped out of the trees. From his fourth year defense against the dark arts book, Albus recognized the strangers as Death Eaters. But they had disappeared after Voldemort had died, right?

"So you came," said a voice. A figure stepped toward Albus, wand outstretched.

"Denver!" Albus exclaimed. Denver laughed, muttering a spell under his breath.


	2. Chapter 2

Albus writhed in pain. He was aware he'd fallen to the ground, but the pain still wouldn't stop. Finally, only after he found that he was screaming at the top of his lungs did the agony cease.

"We don't want the teachers finding you, do we?" Denver said. Albus scrambled up from the ground, aware that while he was screaming, another Death Eater had taken his wand. Nearby, Owen still stood frozen to the spot.

"What do you want with me?" Albus asked. "And in case you haven't noticed, the Death Eaters don't exist anymore. They're gone. They disappeared after Voldemort died."

"Voldemort is still very much alive," Denver said, "in those that dream to get rid of the Potter family."

"I have a brother, mother, and sister you know. And my father is still alive."

"Who says they haven't been captured too?"

________________________________________________________________________

James awoke with a splitting headache, like usual. He crept out of the Griffindor common room, ready for another night at the library. Grunting, he shoved the large wooden doors open, breathing in the smell of old books. Crinkling his nose, he sat down at a table. James wished he could be doing anything else right now, perhaps sleeping. But with his splitting headaches keeping him up, he was sleepy during the day, and this seemed the best night to do his homework.

While reading a particularly boring reading on House-Elves' (who cared that some S.P.E.W. foundation gained them rights), James became aware of the familiar creak of the library doors. Slipping his father's invisibility cloak on, he started to pack up his books.

"Hey James!" Michael cried, a close friend of his said.

"Oh, hey Michael," James said, recognizing the voice. Immediately, he slipped off the cloak.

"I told you he had a cloak," a throaty voice sneered. James recognized it as Jimmy Flecher's, the Slytherin's notorious beater. "Accio cloak!" James lunged for the cloak, but it soared right to Jimmy's hand. Quickly, James went for his wand.

"Expecto Patronum," he cried. An elk appeared from his wand, running towards his enemies. Many shielded their eyes as the light filled the room. Aware this was a trap, James started running.

Running toward the doorway, he suddenly heard Michael shout, "James? Are you here? Help!" Michael! James remembered. He'd been captured. Turning back around, James scanned the room for his friend.

"Stupify!" came a yell, and Jame's body went frigid.

"Well, one thing is for certain," Jimmy said. "You can lure a Potter."

_______________________________________________________________________

Lily squirmed in her bed. Why did Ravenclaw's bed have to be so hard? She got up, and went down to the common room. Resting in one of the chairs, she heard the door creak open. What if it was Professor Chang, the House's head? She quickly went behind her chair and hid.

But it wasn't Chang. It was Gwen, a girl everyone thought should have been in Slytherin, not Ravenclaw. She bent over the roaring fire, as if waiting. Then, a face appeared in the flames.

"How is it going?" Gwen asked. Denver's face appeared.

"We've got Albus, and Jimmy just said he captured James." From behind the chair, Lily gasped. Albus and James were her brothers!

More scared than ever before, Lily pulled out her wand. Knees wobbling under her, she stood up and shouted, "Stupify!" Her spell zipped toward Gwen, and missed her hand by an inch. The spell hit the fireplace.

Quickly, Gwen now pulled out her wand, repeating Lily's spell. This time, however, the spell didn't miss.

Denver stood with Jimmy. Spreading a potion he'd made, he saw all the defense covering the Potter's yard. They were everywhere; fortunately, he saw a opening.

"We'll go through that window," he told Jimmy and another boy. They were the elate force going to penetrate the house.

The three mounted their brooms.

Harry twisted in his sleep. Next to him, Ginny got up, probably to go to the bathroom. Her movements woke him up, and he watched her walk towards the entrance of the room. Suddenly, she fell, making jerky movements. Harry rushed out of bed, his arms reached towards her. Too late, he saw Denver raising his wand in the doorway.

"Crucio," Denver whispered, and Harry too fell a rising pain.


	3. Chapter 3

Albus came to consciousness. He vaugely remembered being stupified, but that was it. Now, he was in a dimly lighted room; his hands were magically bound behind his back, and his siblings and mother stood next to him. Albus looked at Lily, who was crying. Ginny tried to whisper encouragements to her as James silently peered around. Suddenly, Denver came back through the room's door. He walked over to Gwen and Jimmy.

"He won't talk," Denver reported.

"Does he know what we need?" Jimmy asked.

"Yes. But that was all I could get out of him."

"Maybe if you had gone a little longer…"

"No, Gwen. Any mor eof the curse, and his mind would have snapped."

"Fine," Gwen muttered. "Will he be joining his family?" Right on cue, the door of the room opened again. Two people dressed in the Death Eater attire dragged Harry across the room. When they let go of him, he slumped to the floor, barely conscious. Albus glanced at his father, but quickly looked away. Wasn't his father the one who had defeated Voldemort? If so, why was he powerless? Why was he so weak he couldn't stand or defend his family?

That night, the Potters had to sleep in the room, with their hands behind their backs. It was uncomfortable, and while Lily, James, and Ginny finally fell asleep, Harry and Albus could not.

"Albus?" Harry asked. It was after midnight. Until now, Harry hadn't even spoken to his son. Albus thought it was because he was too tired. But it was more. Harry was ashamed.

"Dad?" Albus answered, still looking away. It made his insides squirm to watch his father lying there on the floor with no strength.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"This isn't your fault," Albus said.

"Yes, it is. This wouldn't be happening to us if it wasn't for…my past."

"You couldn't help that. But Dad, why are they here for us? Isn't Voldemort gone?" Albus asked. Harry stayed quiet, and for awhile, Albus thought he was too weak to answer.

"These are just strong followers, that's all," he explained. "But I've faced worse before. It'll work out. Now, I must rest. The Death Eaters, er, tired me out pretty bad today."

"Did they, you know, torture you?" Albus said. Turning to Harry, he saw his father nod. "Why? Did they want information?" Again Harry nodded, but he didn't explain. The two stayed silent; eventually, Albus became aware that Harry had fallen asleep.

The next morning, Albus became aware that the members of his family were being tortured one by one. Harry was being tortured repeatedly though. The order went: Lily, Harry, James, Harry, Ginny, and now Harry again. Albus took an unsteady breath, aware he was up next.

Suddenly, Harry was tossed back into the room. He managed to walk over to Ginny before collasping. She sat down, and though her arms were tied up, she was able to position herself so that Harry's head was on her lap.

From across the room, James watched his brother in amazement. The entire day, the Death Eaters had been torturing the Potters. But his brother, Albus, had been spared. He crinkled his eyebrows in confusion.

Lily sat next to Albus, sniffling.

"Are you ok?" Albus asked her. She nodded.

"It was horrible," she explained. "They went into my mind, and tried to search for images or things I knew about Voldemort. If they got to anything useful, they said 'crucio', and I felt a pain stronger than any I'd ever felt before…" Lily stopped midsentence, lost in her thoughts.

The next day, it was Albus's turn. Shoved roughly to his feet, Jimmy had taken Albus out of the room while it was still dark. He was taken down a dark hallway, before being pushed into a smaller room.

"How strong do you consider your father, the great Harry Potter?" Denver asked, who had been waiting in the room with Gwen. "Strong enough to defeat a combination of torture and mindreading?" Albus nodded.

"He's not," Gwen sneered. "We have what we needed. Of course, you probably know what we wanted, don't you? After all, your father knew all along."

"Why would he tell me this information?"

"Because Albus," Denver said, "your life depends on it. So, did he tell you or not?" Suddenly, Albus had a flashback of last night.

"_Dad, why are they here for us? Isn't Voldemort gone?" _

_"These are just strong followers, that's all. But I've faced worse before. It'll work out. Now, I must rest. The Death Eaters, er, tired me out pretty bad today." _

_"Did they, you know, torture you? Why? Did they want information?" _And as Albus remembered, Harry had only nodded.

"No," Albus answered Denver. "He didn't tell me."


	4. Chapter 4

Albus was tossed back into the room with his family. He sat beside Harry.

"Are you alright?" his father asked Albus tentatively.

"No."

"What happened?"

"Why don't you tell me?" Albus responded harshly. Next to him, he heard Harry sigh.

"How much did they tell you?"

"No one has told me anything. But I know I'm involved in something serious. It's the reason they've captured us, isn't it?"

"Yes."

"You know you owe me an explanation Dad. You need to do it before it's too late," Albus said. Quickly, Harry remembered when Dumbledore had died, and how Harry had felt abondoned, and even betrayed, by him.

"Fine," Harry said. "After I finished my training at Hogwarts, I made it my goal to find out more about Horcruxes. You know what those are, don't you?" Albus nodded. He had heard enough about Voldemort to guess what they were. "Now, I didn't want to make any. I knew what that could do. But I had a feeling that a person, like me, wasn't made to be a Horcrux. I was right. There are…sideeffects.

"It appears that when a person's Horcrux inside them is destroyed, a small part always cling on. That's why ex-Horcrux objects are still considered dangerous. Well, it turns out that the leftover part of the Horcrux was passed onto you, Albus."

"So, what does it matter? Voldemort is dead, isn't he?" Albus asked.

"Technically, yes."

"What do you mean by 'technically'?"

"I mean that right now, he can't come back. He's not alive. But, er, he can be brought back."

"How?"

"Through you, Albus. And only you. That is, not Lily or James. Voldemort can only be brought back by you."

"What?" Albus asked. The information wasn't making sense. Voldemort was dead. How could he be brought back?

"There's a process," Harry explained. "I found it in a book once. It states that if the person with

the leftover Horcrux does certain tasks, they can bring the Horcrux's owner back to life."

"You have to tell me the tasks," Albus said. "I have to be prepared."

"I can't. The Death Eaters here thought I'd told you all. That's why they tortured James, Ginny and Lily."

"And why wasn't I tortured?"

"Because, Albus, he told us the process himself," answered Denver, who'd silently sneaked into the room. "The first step, for example, is for you to kill your father."


	5. Chapter 5

"Stop!" Harry yelled, but with a flick of Denver's wand, he was silenced.

"As I was saying, to bring back Voldemort, you must first kill your father. Then, you must win your older brother's wand in a duel to the death, and finally, show your younger sister the horrors you have done. The first two steps, however, can be out of order." Denver laughed maliciously.

"I'll never do that," Albus replied.

"All I have to do is say 'imperio', and you'll do whatever I want," he sneered. Albus spit in his face. Then, all of a sudden, an odd feeling came over Albus. Happily, he enjoyed the feeling; it was the best thing he'd felt in days. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he was conscious he could stop the feeling, but truthfully, he didn't even try.

Albus snapped back to reality. He found Harry yelling in pain. Slowly, he realized he was punching Harry. Albus scrambled back from his father, not stopping until he'd reached the wall.

"And you said you could resist," Denver sneered, leaving the room. But those words weren't the thing that bothered Albus. It was the look of absolute horror on Harry's face.

Albus stayed up all night, fighting back an avalanche of tears. This night, there was no father to

comfort him. Because he had betrayed his father. Albus knew he might have been able to fight back the

spell. But the feeling of being controlled…had been too great. Albus bit his lip in anger at himself. This

whole thing was his fault, not his dad's. He was the middle son, after all. If he was gone, the procedure

could never be carried out.

The door to the room creaked open. Albus shut his eyes, pretending to be asleep. A familiar

Voice called his name, and Albus opened his eyes in an instant.

"Owen!" he said rather loudly, before quieting down. "Why are you here?" Behind his best

friend, Albus saw Michael waking up James. Also, next to Harry was Hermoine, and next to Ginny was

Ron.

"We're rescuing you of course!" Owen whispered.

Meanwhile, Harry became aware of a hand gently pressing him awake. He shut his eyes against the pull; his body craved sleep.

"Mate, wake up!" said Ron. Harry's eyes flashed open.

"You're here," Harry said in amazement.

"Yeah. Michael and Owen here came and got us. Turns out they were in the plot to capture James and Albus, but the Death Eaters here didn't bother to take them."

"And how'd you get in?"

"Harry, the defenses could have been broken by a sixth year at Hogwarts. But, what have they done to you? You look terrible." Harry told Ron about the way Voldemort could be brought back to life, and how the Death Eaters here found out.

"I've never felt so…weak," Harry said. "I could have stopped them from getting the information. I know it!"

"Yeah, at the cost of your insanity," Ron said. "Come on, let's get out of here. We flew here on broomsticks, and yes, we brought extras, but the bad part is, we think someone is following us." Quickly, Ron released Harry's magically bonds. Then, he helped his friend up as Harry felt his sore wrists. Around the room, the rest of his family was up again too.

"Come on then," Hermoine said. "Let's go!"

James ran outside. He knew everything now. He'd heard his father tell Ron the legend about Albus. Strangley enough, James felt pity for his little brother. It might have been the first time in his life, actually. But sure enough, there was pity. He wished he could do something to help his brother.

The escapers and their rescuers reached the broomsticks. They were just about mounted when Lily screamed. Jimmy had his arms wrapped around her, with his wand pointing at her neck. The message was clear: surrender now.

Then, from the woods, a voice yelled, "Expelliamus!" The wand flew out of Jimmy's hand, and his hold on Lily was broken. She kicked off from the ground, along with the rest of her family. Before flying off, Albus saw the person who'd shouted the spell. They'd been tall, with blonde hair and pale skin. Unfortunately, that's all he'd seen before the man had ran off. Later though, he heard Ron and his father talking.

"So someone was following us," Ron said.

"Malfoy."

Note:THIS STORY IS NOT OVER!


	6. Chapter 6

For the weeks following their escape, Harry and Ginny didn't allow their children entrance back to Hogwarts. Denver, Jimmy, and Gwen had disappeared, and the Potter family feared a repeat of their last capture.

Albus sat on his house's porch with his dad. Albus was still ashamed of being controlled. He knew he would be until the bruises on Harry's arms disappeared. And even then, the memories wouldn't fade.

"Am I weak?" Albus finally asked.

"No," Harry replied. Albus ignored it.

"Is it because I'm a Hufflepuff?" Albus asked. James had become a Griffindor, and Lily a Ravenclaw, but Albus had gotten into Hufflepuff.

"What would that have to do with it?"

"It means I'm not brave, clever, or even ambitious."

"But you're thoughtful and kind."

"That doesn't do anything."

"Never say that, Albus. Do you think Voldemort had any kind part in him?" Harry asked. Albus looked at his feet.

"But kindness doesn't do anything."

"And that's where you're wrong, Albus. Kindness can save lives."

Meanwhile, James sat alone in his room. A feeling of guilt pressed upon him. He knew in his heart the Death Eaters would come back. He knew they would stop at nothing to get Voldemort back to life. And he knew Albus would suffer. But wasn't he the oldest? Shouldn't he take more responsibility? Wasn't there a way to stop Albus from suffering? Thinking hard, James thought of a way to stop Albus from turning into Voldemort. Forever. But could James do it?

For strength, James thought of his brave father in his seventh year. He had tried to sacrifice himself for the people he loved too. A tear crept out of James' eyes, surprising him. Lily cried loads, but never James. Again, he'd never been in this situation before either.

But it was the only solution.

"Albus!" James yelled. "Could you come up here for a minute?" He wondered if those would be some of his final words.

More tears fell from his tears.


	7. Chapter 7

Albus heard James calling him.

"Does he seem upset to you?" Harry asked. Albus shrugged, got up, and ran upstairs. Upon entering Jame's room, he found his brother sitting on his bed, tears on his face. It was a bit shocking; Albus had never seen his brother cry before.

"What's wrong, James?"

"Listen to me," he commanded. "No questions. Just listen. When I'm done…showing you what I want you to see, don't touch my wand. Make sure Dad destroys it. He'll know how."

"Don't you need your wand?"

"I said no questions," James said. He took a deep breath and then took out his wand. To Albus's surprise, to pointed it at himself. Albus opened his mouth again, but decided against asking another question. Instead, he instinctively put his hand on his own wand that was in his pocket. James started to speak.

"Avada-" James yelled, the wand still pointed at himself. Albus caught on.

"Expelliamus!" he screamed. "Stupify!" The wand flew out of Jame's hand as he stiffened. Harry and Ginny came pounding up the stairs. They stopped when they saw the scene: James, his wand out of his hand, and Albus, on his knees, pointing his wand.

"What did you just do?" Harry said. To him, it looked as if Albus was trying to take his brother's wand. But he'd thought he'd heard 'avada'. And it sounded like James said it.

"What happened?" Ginny asked, speechless.

"James," Albus cried. "He tried to kill himself. He told me not to take his wand."

"But why?" Ginny asked.

"I think I know. If James got rid of himself and his wand, you would never be able to take it, Albus. It would break the process of you becoming Voldemort. The Death Eaters would stop chasing us." Albus took in the information, breathless.

"What now?" Albus asked. "I mean, James can't do that. But he's right on one point. We have to break the process." Suddenly, Ginny started to smile.

"I think you have," she said. "You saved your brother, Albus. That's the opposite of overpowering him in a duel to the death. It was, in a way, a duel in which you saved his life."

"Exactly," Harry agreed. "Just like my mother, you've given your love, and protection, to him. He's safe. You're safe. We're all safe." Then, Harry bent down and whispered into Albus's ear.

"Did I not tell you, my Hufflepuff, that kindness is important after all?"


End file.
